


Quiet Christmas

by emi_chirescue (starkteasfic)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: HD Owl Post 2016, M/M, fest fic, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 06:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8834278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkteasfic/pseuds/emi_chirescue
Summary: Harry hadn't know that Christmas could be this quiet. But sometimes, the best opportunities come out of the silence.[HD Owl Post 2016]





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [leotinabowie](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=leotinabowie).



Harry knew that Hogwarts was silent during the holidays, but this year seemed to be especially quiet as he roamed the halls.

Ron had offered for Harry to come with him to the Burrow for the break, but the younger man had declined; he hadn’t wanted to intrude upon the Weasley’s , who already were full to bursting with Charlie and Bill having come home to visit. It also hadn’t helped that he and Ginny were still fairly awkward around each other since the news about her and Neville’s tryst came to light a few weeks ago.

Harry sighed, rolling his shoulders and tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. He and Ginny had tried to make it work the past summer, but whatever had been there his sixth year had faded, leaving the last dredges that they had tried to hold onto. They had called it quits a week before coming back to the school, and Harry had felt mostly relief when it happened, as horrid as that was.

He had honestly started to believe that something in him had been irreparably damaged the night the war ended.

A sharp clatter startled him, and he brought his wand up and around on instinct, head too filled with thoughts of the war to stop the reflex.

Draco Malfoy was crouched next to where he had dropped his bag, muttering curses under his breath.

Harry slowly lowered his wand, feeling embarrassed by his own response, and took a hesitant step toward the other. Malfoy’s head snapped up, eyes narrowed and a hex on his lips when he realized who it was standing there.

Harry didn’t know what went through Malfoy’s head at that moment, but whatever it was caused his face to twitch before smoothing out, and he rose to face Harry.

“Potter,” he stated.

Harry felt like he had been hit with a befuddlement charm. “Er, Malfoy.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

Harry slowly shook his head, eyes wide. Even after all these years, he still didn’t know how to handle any interaction with Malfoy. “Oh, no, no. I was, er, just wondering if you wanted any…help?”

The silence his question was met with stretched for long enough that Harry was ready to make a hasty retreat when Malfoy awkwardly cleared his throat.

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

Harry stood there for a moment longer, before slowly approaching the other man and taking back out his wand. “ _Reparo_ ,” he murmured, watching as the inkwell that shattered fixed itself and the textbook that had bent flipped back into a normal position. “Sorry about the parchment; I’m not quite sure what the spell is to remove excess ink.”

“ _Evanesco minimus_.”

“What?”

Malfoy sighed, rolling his eyes. “ _Evanesco minimus_. It’s for removing a surface layer of something. Works well enough on parchment.”

“Oh.” Repeating the spell, Harry watched as the spilled ink seemed to evaporate, leaving just the words of Malfoy’s Astronomy homework visible. If only all my problems were that easy to fix, he thought wryly to himself.

“Thank you, Potter.” Stiffly, Malfoy gathered up all his items by hand and began putting them back into his bag.

“No problem.” Harry couldn’t help to be curious, though, even though it caused him to get into more trouble that it was worth. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you do it yourself?”

Malfoy stiffened, freezing briefly before turning a frosty glare Harry’s way. “Like you don’t already know, Potter.”

Harry took a step back in surprise. “Er, not to sound rude, but I wouldn’t be asking if I did.”

Eyes narrowed, Malfoy spat in a venomous tone. “It’s quite hard to do magic without a wand to aid me. Since the ministry refuses to allow me to obtain another until my probation is up, and you are still in possession of my old one, I am unable to do any magic at this moment in time.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry replied after a moment, chastened. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Well, you did. And I would very much like it if you didn’t bring it up to me again.”

The silence stretched for a long moment, Malfoy looking off with a glare and Harry looking at his toes to prevent anything else from coming out of his mouth.

Malfoy took in a deep breath. “Now, if that is all, I’ll be going. Have a nice day, Potter.” With that, he began down the hallway, back stiff and stride even.

He was almost to the end of the hall when Harry finally found his voice, refusing to let their first conversation since the war end like that. “Malfoy,” he called. The other man froze before turning.

“What, Potter?”

“Well. Seeing as we may be the only two students left in the entire school…” He began, attempting to bring a bit a humour to the situation. “Would you like to join me for lunch on Christmas?”

Malfoy looked startled at the offer. “Why would you…nevermind. Sure, Potter. Lunch on Christmas.”

Harry smiled, causing Malfoy’s eyes to go even wider for a moment. “Great. See you then.”

“Yes,” Malfoy replied slowly. “See you then.”

~

“Can you believe,” Draco started once they were both out of the pensieve, “that _that_ was the moment that led us to where we are now?” He chuckled, eyes bright with mischief. “You, awkward and a fashion disaster if I’ve ever seen one, and I, suave, sophisticated—”

“A prat,” Harry interjected, smiling innocently at Draco’s dirty look.

“You have no room to be talking, Lord-Consort Potter-Malfoy.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “And I see we’re back to the full title.”

Draco snagged him around the waist, bringing Harry to press against his side. “Don’t act like you don’t love it when I acknowledge it.”

Harry gave him a dry look. “Oh, yes, Lord Malfoy, don’t I ever,” he deadpanned.

Draco snorted. They were quiet for a long moment, just staring at each other, when Harry smiled softly. “And no, I don’t believe it.”

It took Draco a moment to catch onto what he was saying.

“But what I do believe,” Harry continued, wrapping himself around his husband, “is that it was definitely the best moment in my life.”

“Why’s that? We didn’t even call each other by our given names.”

“Because it was the moment the door was opened for me to be the happiest I’m ever going to be.”

Draco looked at him, shocked, before letting a smile spread across his face. He leaned down and gave Harry a slow kiss, so reminiscent of their first that it made Harry’s toes curl in pleasure.

“Happy Christmas, Harry.”

Harry rested his head against Draco’s.

“Happy Christmas, Draco.”


End file.
